The present invention relates to a wellhead assembly for injecting a fluid, in particular a slurry of cuttings from a well drilling operation, into a well and a method for its use. The well is especially a subsea well. The method and apparatus of the present invention may be applied in, but are not limited to, the disposal of drilling muds and drilling cuttings prepared in the form of a liquid slurry.
The drilling of an oil or gas well, for example a subsea well, results in the formation of small fragments of rock and other matter, known as cuttings, from the various formations through which the well is drilled. The cuttings are removed from the well as they are formed by the drill bit by being entrained in a drilling mud pumped down the well and returned to the surface vessel or platform. The cuttings are typically recovered from the drilling mud by a separation process and the mud reused in the well operations. In the past, at offshore locations, it has been common practice to dispose of the cuttings separated from the drilling mud in this way by dumping them in the sea. This practice has proven acceptable in the past, as the drilling muds employed were water based in composition and, as such, cuttings separated from such water based slurries gave rise to minimal, if any, environmental impact when disposed of in the aforementioned manner. Additionally, many companies have changed their practice to use synthetic drilling mud that is environmentally friendly.
Recently, however, it has become favoured to employ oil based drilling muds, as such mud formulations offer a number of advantages. For example, oil based muds improve the stability of the well bore, improve the performance of the drill bit by providing better lubrication and removal of cuttings as they are formed, and reduce the torque generated in the drill string during use. For these reasons, oil based drilling muds have been finding increasing use. While offering advantages during the drilling operation, the oil based mud formulations present a problem with respect to disposal. Cutting separated from the oil based muds after recovery from the well are inevitably contaminated with the oil based formulation. Washing the cuttings has been attempted, but only removes the mud from the surface of the cuttings particles, leaving oil in the cracks and pores of the fragments. It is no longer possible to dispose of cuttings recovered from an offshore well using oil based drilling muds in the same manner as when water based muds are employed by simply pouring the cuttings into the sea, due to a damaging environmental impact. The corresponding environmental regulations now prohibit this method of disposal.
Accordingly, it has been the practice to dispose of the cuttings by injecting them into a well and into subsurface formations. To facilitate this, it has been the practice to grind the cuttings and suspend them in a suitable liquid to form a pumpable slurry, which may then be injected into a subsurface formation through an annulus between adjacent casings in the well. This has been common practice in environmentally sensitive areas, such as the north slope of Alaska, for many years.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,929 discloses a method for the disposal and reclamation of drilling wastes, in which construction grade gravel is separated from drilling cuttings produced during well drilling operations. The solids that are not so recovered are formed as a slurry with the remaining clays, silts and spent drilling fluid and conducted to a second well, remote from the well being drilled, into which the slurry is injected. Centrifugal pumps or mechanical agitators are used to disperse the fine solids in the slurry to assist in the injection process.
A drill cutting disposal method and system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,469. In the method and system disclosed, drill cuttings produced during well drilling operations are brought to the surface and separated from the drilling mud, mixed with a suitable liquid, such as sea water and the mixture subjected to grinding to form a slurry. The slurry may then be pumped into a selected zone of the well for disposal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,882 discloses a method for the disposal of well drilling cuttings, in which the cuttings are solidified by combining the cuttings with water and blast furnace slag. The resulting mixture is injected into the annulus between two wellbore casings, where it solidifies to form a cement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,745 describes a method and apparatus for providing a remotely operable connection to establish access to an annulus within a wellhead assembly. The apparatus requires a port in the wellhead assembly. A valve is positioned to seal with the port by remote means using a ramp assembly supported on a guide base positioned around the wellhead.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,715 discloses a method and apparatus for injecting cuttings into a well while drilling operations are in progress. Two embodiments are discussed in the disclosure. The first method requires a predrilled well bore to be bored adjacent to and extending away from the well being drilled. The predrilled well bore is used as a depository for the drilling cuttings produced from the well being drilled. The second embodiment requires an injection tube to be installed within the well being drilled alongside the casings set into the well, through which access can be gained to subsurface formations into which the cuttings may be injected. A further embodiment employs an annulus between adjacent casings in the well in order to gain access to underground formations. It is noted that the embodiments disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,715 relate to the injection of cuttings into a well having a wellhead accessible on land. While subsea operations are mentioned, little information is given regarding the injection of cuttings into subsea wells.
A subsea wellhead typically comprises a conductor pipe extending below the sea bed in the well, the upper portion of which extends from the well and forms a conductor housing. A high pressure housing is landed in the conductor housing, on which is typically mounted a blowout preventer (BOP) stack by means of a BOP guide funnel. Successively smaller casings are landed in the wellhead, suspended from casing hangers secured within the conductor pipe or the high pressure housing. A guide base is often employed, which comprises a structure extending around the wellhead and mounted to the conductor housing.
A subsea well injection system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,277, for injecting unwanted slurries and other fluids arising from drilling or other downhole operations into a subsea well. The slurry or other fluid is injected through a drilling guide base positioned around the well on an underwater surface. The system employs a dedicated guide base, which comprises pipework on the guide base leading to a port in the conductor housing of the well, thus gaining access to the annulus between the conductor casing and the adjacent inner casing. A fail safe isolation valve is provided on the guide base and joined to the pipework. A coupling is provided to connect the isolation valve to a surface vessel or platform. The wellhead is modified to provide a port in the conductor housing, in order to gain access to an annulus between casings within the well. With a single port in the outermost housing of the well, fluids may be injected into the outermost annulus of the well. If access is required to an inner annulus, similar ports are required in the casings disposed radially outwards of the inner annulus to provide a flow path to the pipework extending from the guide base.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,912, there is disclosed a cuttings disposal system in which an injection adapter is employed to allow a slurry of cuttings to be injected into a well. The well, designated an xe2x80x9cinjection wellxe2x80x9d, has an inner and an outer wellhead housing with at least one casing hanger and a respective inner casing installed in the inner wellhead housing. The casing hanger is formed with a port through it, connecting the bore of the well with the annulus between the inner casing and the outer casing of the well. When it is desired to inject cuttings into the well, an injection adapter is landed in the wellhead so as to extend into the bore of the well, allowing a central bore in the injection adapter to connect, through a port in the side of the injection adapter body, with the port in the casing hanger. The central bore in the injection adapter is connected by pipework to a pump at the surface, by means of which a slurry of cuttings may be injected through the injection adapter and into the annulus in the well. It is noted that, with the injection adapter landed in the well, access to the well for conducting other operations is denied, until the cuttings injection operation is ceased and the injection adapter removed.
In a paper entitled xe2x80x9cSubsea Cuttings Injection Guide Base Trialxe2x80x9d presented at the Offshore European Conference, Sep. 7 to 10, 1993, Ferguson et al. disclosed the results of field trials conducted to test a permanent guide base and wellhead assembly modified to allow cuttings injection. A modified permanent guide base was employed having a pipe connecting through the guide base to a port in an extension welded to the conductor housing of the wellhead. A similar extension was provided on the lower end of the high pressure housing, through which a port was formed to align with the port in the extension to the conductor housing and provide access to an inner annulus of the wellhead assembly. As with the system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,169, a dedicated guide base is required in this system in order to provide the possibility of cuttings injection, together with modifications to several of the wellhead components.
A similar cuttings injection system is disclosed by Saasen et al. in a paper entitled xe2x80x9cThe First Cuttings Injection Operation Worldwide in a Subsea Annulus: Equipment and Operational Experiencexe2x80x9d, presented at the SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, Sep. 27 to 30, 1998. Saasen et al. indicate that prior to 1998 cuttings re-injection had been restricted to fixed platforms. Saasen et al. state that annular re-injection into subsea wells, where drilling operations are in progress had not been feasible. Accordingly, Saasen et al. report on a new development to provide a system to achieve cuttings re-injection, while drilling operations are taking place. The system employs a modified guide base, required to be larger than conventional guide bases, through which access is gained to a port formed in the conductor housing. A similar port is provided in the high pressure housing, aligned with the port in the conductor housing, in order to access an annulus between the high pressure housing, and its associated casing, and a casing suspended from a casing hanger secured in the bore of the high pressure housing. Again, the system of Saasen et al. requires a modified, dedicated guide base to be provided in order to inject cuttings into an annulus within the wellhead assembly. Further, in the system of Saasen et al. seal cartridges are required to be provided within the conductor housing around the high pressure housing both above and below the ports in the conductor housing and high pressure housing, in order to avoid ingress of the cuttings slurry into the annulus between the conductor housing and the high pressure housing.
As can be seen from the above review of the prior art, wellhead assemblies have been proposed which employ a guide base having one or more ports which align axially, and in some cases circumferentially, with corresponding ports in the conductor housing, in order to gain access to an annulus within the well. Saasen et al. indicate that the only practical application of cuttings re-injection into a well while drilling operations are taking place requires a dedicated guide base, having ports which connect with ports in the wellhead housing. It would be advantageous if way could be found to dispense with the need to provide ports in the guide base, thus reducing the overall number of seals required, with a corresponding reduction in the possibility of a failure of the system resulting in a leak.
A cuttings injection wellhead system for use in subsea wells is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,169. The wellhead system employs a wellhead having a conductor casing, to which is mounted a conductor housing and around which a guide base is provided. A high pressure housing is landed in the conductor housing. The wellhead system comprises an extension to the conductor housing extending between the lower end of the conductor housing and the conductor casing. A port is formed in the conductor housing extension below the guide base, allowing access to the interior of the conductor housing. A similar extension is provided on the lower end of the high pressure housing, formed with a corresponding port aligned with the port in the conductor casing. An inner casing is suspended from a casing hanger disposed within the high pressure housing. The ports in the extensions to the conductor housing and high pressure housing provide access to the annulus around the inner casing, into which a slurry of drilling cuttings may be injected. The pipework necessary to connect with the port in the conductor housing extension depends from the guide base provided around the wellhead assembly.
The wellhead system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,169 does not employ ports in the guide base, in order to gain access to an annulus within the wellhead and the well. However, the assembly of U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,169 requires the use of a modified conductor housing and high pressure housing, both of which must be provided with extensions through which aligned ports must be bored. In addition, the system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,662,169 requires the use of a dedicated guide base with the necessary pipework and connections in order to allow cuttings injection to proceed.
It is noted that the prior art teaches, in general, that it is required to employ a dedicated guide base in order to effect cuttings injection into a subsea wellhead. However, as wells are being drilled in deeper and deeper water, it is becoming increasingly difficult to employ a guide base. In very deep water, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to support and properly orient a guide base on a wellhead assembly from the surface. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to provide a system for injecting cuttings and other fluids into a well, without being required to rely upon a guide base, whether of conventional design or dedicated to allow for fluid re-injection.
Further, it can be seen that the systems proposed in the prior art require significant modifications to the components of the wellhead assembly in order to provide access to the annulus of choice within the well. It would be advantageous to provide a system for fluid injection requiring only a minimum of modifications to conventional wellhead assembly components.
It would be of further advantage if the system for cuttings injection could be operated in a well while drilling and other well operations were proceeding at the same time.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a wellhead assembly comprising:
an outer housing having a central bore therethrough;
an inner housing having a central bore therethrough and secured in the central bore of the outer housing, the inner housing having a first end within the outer housing;
a first inner casing having a central bore therethrough, the first inner casing being secured at a first end in the outer housing and spaced from the first end of the inner housing;
a port through the outer housing in communication with the central bore therethrough, the port opening into the central bore of the outer housing between the first end of the inner housing and the first end of the first inner casing;
a second inner casing secured in the wellhead assembly at a first end, whereby the port opens into the central bore of the outer housing between the first end of the first inner housing and the first end of the second inner housing, an annulus being formed between the first and second inner casings;
whereby a flowpath for fluid injection into a well in which the wellhead assembly is installed comprises the port in the outer housing and the annulus between the first and second inner casings.
A wellhead assembly according to the present invention allows access to be gained to an annulus between casings within the wellhead assembly and the well, into which a fluid may be injected, with a minimum of seals being required and a minimum of modifications being needed to existing or conventional wellhead assembly components. Further, the wellhead assembly allows fluid to be injected into the wellhead assembly and the well, while downhole operations such as drilling, are being conducted through the second inner casing.
The second inner casing is preferably secured at its first end within the central bore of the inner housing. In this arrangement, a collar is preferably disposed to extend from the first end of the inner housing between the opening of the port in the outer housing and the second inner casing. In this way, fluid injected into the wellhead assembly through the port is not allowed to impact the second inner casing, but rather is deflected to flow more longitudinally within the central bore of the outer housing.
A third inner casing is preferably provided, disposed to extend within the second inner casing and secured within the wellhead assembly. In this way, downhole operations may be conducted through the third inner casing, with at least one casing disposed between the third inner casing, the central bore of which is at well pressure, and the flowpath through which fluid is injected.
In a preferred embodiment, an intermediate casing is disposed within the wellhead assembly so as to extend within the first inner casing, in the annulus between the first inner casing and the second inner casing. The intermediate casing is preferably secured at a first end to the first inner casing in the annulus between the first and second inner casings. In such an arrangement, the first end of the intermediate casing may be sealed to the first inner casing, thereby ensuring fluid introduced into the wellhead assembly along the flowpath flows along the annulus between the intermediate inner casing and the second inner casing.
Preferably, a means for deflecting the flow of fluid entering the wellhead assembly through the port in the outer housing is deflected, so as not to impinge directly upon the second inner casing. As noted above, when the second inner casing is secured at one end within the inner housing, the means for deflecting the flow of fluid may be a collar extending from the first end of the inner housing. As an alternative, or in addition thereto, a sleeve may be provided to extend between the opening of the port in the outer housing and the second inner casing.
Fluid is preferably introduced into the wellhead assembly by means of a riser interface assembly connected to the port in the outer housing. The riser interface allows a riser to be connected between the port in the outer housing and a surface platform or vessel, through which fluid may be pumped into the well. The riser interface preferably comprises a valve for regulating the flow of fluid along the flowpath. The valve is most preferably a fail-safe closed valve, allowing the port and the interior of the outer housing to be sealed in the case of an emergency.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a method for injecting a fluid into a well, which method comprises:
providing a wellhead assembly having an outer housing having a central bore therethrough and an inner housing secured within the central bore of the outer housing;
introducing a fluid into the central bore of the outer housing of the wellhead assembly at a point below the inner housing; and
allowing the fluid to enter an annulus formed between a first inner casing secured at a first end in the wellhead assembly below the point of introduction of the fluid and a second inner casing secured at a first end above the point of introduction of the fluid;
the annulus extending between the first and second inner casings into the well.
The fluid is preferably introduced into the central bore of the outer housing through a port in the outer housing.
Once introduced into the outer housing, the fluid is preferably deflected in the region of the point of introduction, in order to prevent the fluid impinging directly upon the second inner casing. The deflection may be accomplished by having a collar extending from the inner housing between the point of introduction of the fluid and the second inner casing. As an alternative, or in addition thereto, a sleeve may be located in the central bore of the outer housing between the point of introduction of the fluid and the second inner casing.
The annulus entered by the fluid may be formed by an intermediate inner casing extending between the first inner casing and the second inner casing. In such an arrangement, the annulus entered by the fluid is preferably formed between the intermediate casing and the second inner casing. When an intermediate casing is provided, it is preferably secured in the first inner casing to thereby seal the annulus between the first inner casing and the intermediate casing.
The fluid being introduced into the wellhead assembly and the well may be any fluid which is required to be injected into the well. The method of the present invention is particularly suitable for use in the injection into a well of a slurry of drilling cuttings. In a most convenient embodiment of the present invention, the drilling cuttings have been produced by drilling operations conducted within the well. In other words, the present invention provides for the re-injection into a well of drilling cuttings produced from the well during drilling operations conducted in the well. This method represents a most efficient and cost-effective method of disposing of drilling cuttings produced during offshore drilling operations.
It is a further aspect of the present invention that the injection of fluid, in particular a slurry of drilling cuttings, into the wellhead assembly and the well may be carried out at the same time as well operations are being conducted through the second inner casing. In particular, the present invention allows for drilling operations to be performed and drilling cuttings produced as a result of the drilling operations simultaneously re-injected into the well.
Specific embodiments of the apparatus and method of the present invention will now be described in detail having reference to the accompanying drawings. The detailed description of these embodiments and the referenced drawings are by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.